The theatre as an auratic art form has a special aesthetic function which results from its particular mode of perception by the audience and which relates to a special legal position under German constitutional and sub-constitutional law. Article 5 Subsection 3, first sentence, of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) commands substantial government funding and a number of sub-constitutional peculiarities such as the general immunity of theatrical performance to police action, the absence of youth protection laws, preferential treatment in comparison to criminal offences committed in writing, and the possibility of fixed-term contracts of employment.